You got to hand it to a band that has the proverbial balls to name themselves after an 1815 Percy Shelley poem "Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude." Singer Elizabeth Elkins, drummer Scott Roberts and bassist Christopher 'Brillo' Karow are on a full-on assault on the Southeastern music scene. Known for their sardonic wit and a knack for shameless self-promotion, Alastor has set their sights on the national music scene and will accept no substitute. Hard at work writing the follow-up to their Gatecrasher Records release Nothing for Anyone, Elkins took some time to chat with the Monkey about her side-job, a cool grant and the elusive quest for fame.
Your band has been called a mixture of Patti Smith, Neil Diamond
and Bill Murray. Where in this broad spectrum of influences do you think
you belong?
There is a degree of satire in what I am singing. When you listen to
Neil Diamond there is a bizarre, ironic tone to his voice. Bill Murray,
I think the he picked up on the satirical undertone.
You’re also a local magazine writer. Does it help?
I have written for Art and Antiques and Creative Loafing. It helps
a lot. It helped in a PR aspect with getting the word out. I have worded
with a lot of people. They recognized my name heard of me as a writer.
Plus, it is helpful to do our bio.
With Creative Loafing I have been like, here is my CD. I might feel
a little different if I was on staff, but as a freelancer I don’t feel
like I’m crossing too many ethical lines.
The Jim Beam Grant. How did that help? What did the band do with
it?
We’re going to use the Jim Beam grant to do an EP. We’re really concentrating
on song arrangements and production.
How is that EP coming?
The last six months, to me, in a bizarre way has been the most exciting
for the band. We recorded a CD. Got a lot of good press, good gigs. The
new CD we continued to get good press with in the last six months I’ve
realized the steps we need to take to get to the next level. Now I think
about how do I make a song more sonically textured. We have 80 songs and
we’ve picked 5. Scott, a consummate musician, is working on arranging songs.
We’re looking are how we can make it sound much better. We’re becoming
more a cohesive, creative group. What we will record this fall/summer will
blow our older stuff out of the water.
Any major label dreams?
We have established contacts with indie labels and majors. We’ve gotten
good feedback from Columbia. Our goal is to get with a smaller label, someone
behind us with a little more financial power to back it up a little more
with radio. I’m a sucker for fame. I have always wanted to be famous.
I would want to take it to a national level. Someone like Morrissey or
Nanci Griffth, where we don’t have to sell millions. A respectful level
of awareness.
Your writing style? What are some of your influences?
I have been criticized for being too obtuse. I am addicted to T.S.
Elliot. Before I was a songwriter I was a poet and fiction writer. Lyrically
I’m a huge fan of the Smiths and Morrissey. Like Tori Amos said, "if I
gave the mystery away no one would want to listen anymore." I love a good
song, no matter what the genre, love stuff like the Pixies, Nirvana, raw
energy.
And how do you write?
I like to romanticize the past. I put two or three years distance in
what I write about. I like to write from someone else’s perspective. Or
I might write a song from a famous person’s perspective. I might write
a song pretending I am Morrissey.
Six band dream festival.
1. Smiths
2. Social Distortion
3. Concrete Blond
4. Pixies
5. Tori Amos
6. Billy Joel pre--1985
Band’s web site http://members.aol.com/Alastorweb
e-mail the band at : alastorweb@aol.com